Blue Star 1 is a Greek ferry, which is owned by Blue Star Ferries. She is a motor Ro-Ro/Passenger ferryboat, built in 2000 by Van der Giessen de Noord shipward in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands.[1][2][3] She is a sistership to Blue Star 2. She holds a total of 1600 passengers and 640 vehicles and has 430 beds in 161 cabins for passengers. She has four MAN B&W 8L58 / 64 diesel engines,[1][2] with combined power of 44,480 kW and reaches speeds of up to 27 knots.
The ship was ordered in 1998 by Strintzis Lines.[1][4][5][6] The keel was laid on August 24, 1999[1] and was launched at December 18 of the same year.[1] She was intended to be named Superferry Atlantic[1][4][5] and serve Brindisi – Patras line[5]. However, after Strintzis Lines' acquisition of 48% stake by Attica Enterprise and renaming to Blue Star Ferries, she got her current name.[1][4][5] She was delivered on June 6, 2000[1] and on June 13, she was deployed by between Ancona – Brindisi – Patras[1][4][5][6], connecting Italy with Greece.[7] By 2001, Brindisi was no longer included on her route, despite her excellent results here
Afterwards, she arrived at Neorion Shipyards, Syros island for extension on deck 9:[7] Although the passenger capacity decreased, 15 new cabins were added and some crew cabins became passenger cabins. On January 26, she departed Piraeus towards Zeebrugge, where she arrived 3 days later. Once she arrived, she was deployed between Zeebrugge – Rosyth, in order to cover the space left by the Superfast X, which was sold earlier, until September 14, 2008. She was then returned to Greece and arrived in Patras on September 19. 5 days later she returned on the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Bari line.
After 3 years on the Patras Igoumenitsa line, in 2011, she was deployed between Patras-Igoumenitsa-Ancona between February 10 and March 21. The following day she returned on the Patras-Igoumenitsa-Bari line for three more days until deploying between Piraeus – Syros – Santorini – Patmos – Leros – Kos – Rhodes, serving the Aegean Sea from the first time in 6 years. On February 1, 2012, she was deployed between Piraeus – Heraklion, under the ANEK-Attica joint venture, for one year, before returning to the Adriatic Sea on November 15, 2013.
She was then deployed between Patras – Igoumenitsa – Ancona, for one month before returning to the Aegean Sea on December 9. Since then, she operated the following lines:
After her Irish Ferries charter was completed she was returned to Blue Star Ferries and entered service on the Piraeus – Chania route, replacing the Blue Galaxy.
The ship was ordered in 1998 by Strintzis Lines.[1][4][5][6] The keel was laid on August 24, 1999[1] and was launched at December 18 of the same year.[1] She was intended to be named Superferry Atlantic[1][4][5]
After 3 years on the Patras Igoumenitsa line, in 2011, she was deployed between Patras-Igoumenitsa-Ancona between February 10 and March 21. The following day she returned on the Patras-Igoumenitsa-Bari line for three more days until deploying between Piraeus – Syros – Santorini – Patmos – Leros – Kos – Rhodes, serving the Aegean Sea from the first time in 6 years. On February 1, 2012, she was deployed between Piraeus – Heraklion, under the ANEK-Attica joint venture, for one year, before returning to the Adriatic Sea on November 15, 2013.
She was then deployed between Patras – Igoumenitsa – Ancona, for one month before returning to the Aegean Sea on December 9. Since then, she operated the following lines:
After her Irish Ferries charter was completed she was returned to Blue Star Ferries and entered service on the Piraeus – Chania route, replacing the Blue Galaxy.
In 2021, the Blue Star 1 was chartered by Irish Ferries for its Pembroke to Rosslare route[8] in order to replace the Isle of Inishmore, which was moved to Irish Ferries' new route between Dover and Calais.[9] The charter lasted for two years. She began service on 6 April 2021 and completed the charter on May 30, 2023. She was replaced by the Oscar Wilde, chartered by Irish Ferries from Tallink.
Original livery
The original consisted of a blue hull with the Blue Star Ferries logo in it, plus the "STRINTZIS LINES" text, referring to the company's old name. The decks were white with a black horizontical stripe in the middle deck. The funnel was orange with a blue star.
Current livery
The "STRINTZIS LINES" text was later removed from the livery.
"Superfast" livery
During her brief service in the North Sea, along with her formal Blue Star livery, she also had a "Joint service with" text along with the Superfast logo in a red background.
"ANEK, Superfast" livery
While briefly operating in the Piraeus-Heraklion line, along with the formal Blue Star livery, she also had the ANEK, Superfast logo on a white background.
"Irish Ferries" livery
In 2021 she was repainted in an Irish Ferries livery for her charter to the company, this involved the replacement of the Blue Star Ferries logo on the hull with an Irish Ferries logo as well as the repainting of the funnel to green with the Irish Ferries logo.
Afterwards, she arrived at Neorion Shipyards, Syros island for extension on deck 9:[7] Although the passenger capacity decreased, 15 new cabins were added and some crew cabins became passenger cabins. On January 26, she departed Piraeus towards Zeebrugge, where she arrived 3 days later. Once she arrived, she was deployed between Zeebrugge – Rosyth, in order to cover the space left by the Superfast X, which was sold earlier, until September 14, 2008. She was then returned to Greece and arrived in Patras on September 19. 5 days later she returned on the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Bari line.
